Journal Inclusion in the ATLA Religion Database

	The Evaluation Process and Criteria
	Titles Accepted for Indexing
	Waitlist

The Evaluation Process and Criteria

The ATLA Religion Database (ATLA RDB) currently indexes more than 500 journal titles and approximately 250 polygraphs each year, and considers new titles for evaluation based on member, publisher, and scholar recommendations. The Department of Indexes is responsible for maintaining the title list for ATLA RDB, and one important part of that work is evaluating the journals recommended to us. The department places a premium on maintaining currency in the journals indexed; evaluation of recommended titles, therefore, is not simply an evaluation of the overall quality of a given journal. The department seeks to provide a database that reflects the ever-changing publishing and scholarly world, and bringing new titles into ATLA RDB is an essential part our mission. The department's resources, however, require that great care go into the selection of titles to be added, since it is not in a position to add every title worthy of inclusion.

Journal evaluations are done annually. The index management team makes an initial review of the journals in the evaluation queue. The primary goal of this initial evaluation is to create a subset of journals that can realistically be considered for addition to the database given current staffing levels, previous departmental commitments, and appropriateness for inclusion. The management team evaluates candidate publications to determine whether they are academic, peer-reviewed journals with an established publishing record. Then the management team checks to see whether they are abstracted and/or indexed elsewhere. For example, ATLA holds a partnership agreement with the Catholic Library Association. This agreement stipulates that ATLA will not index journals included in the Catholic Periodical and Literature Index (CPLI). The department gives special consideration to small-press titles and titles not indexed elsewhere, although a title that is indexed elsewhere is not by policy excluded. The management team also looks at the format and content of the journal, specifically, if a publication contains or consists primarily of abstracts, bibliographies, book reviews, devotions, dissertation abstracts, documents, feature articles, obituaries, opinion pieces, reprints, research articles, and/or sermons. ATLA RDB does not generally include current-awareness publications, newsletters, and the like, so these are typically removed from consideration. The goal of this initial review is not to evaluate the quality or merit of the journals being evaluated; rather, it is to identify those journals that meet the criteria for inclusion and to identify those journals that the department can reasonably consider adding without compromising commitments to titles presently on the list.

In the second phase, a knowledgeable team of indexers with an array of language skills and subject expertise considers several recent issues of each title. The indexers examine several recent issues to see if the subject matter is within the scope of ATLA RDB; i.e., the primary focus is on comparative studies, historical studies, missions, ministerial studies (counseling, liturgy, homiletics), scriptural studies, and/or theological studies (Christian, Jewish, Islamic, etc.). They also look for secondary foci as they relate to religion and theology such as:

Indexers also consider the intended audience; i.e., whether it is chiefly aimed at theology school faculty and students, researchers in college and university religious programs, religious leaders, laity, and/or the general public. The indexers' primary concern is to evaluate the content, not only for fit, but also for quality.

The management team then reviews all recommendations and makes the final decision, taking into account current staffing levels, the department's other work commitments, and the overall contribution a given title would make to ATLA RDB. Any individual title may be rejected, added, or waitlisted. ATLA hopes to keep the waitlist to a very select group of titles that we can commit to adding in a reasonable amount of time. Publishers are then notified of the final decision.

The time and effort that this evaluation process requires guarantees that ATLA adds true value to the database while husbanding its resources responsibly.

To recommend a journal for evaluation, please send the title of the journal with ISSN and publisher information to Gregg Taylor, database manager for acquisitions and bibliographic control.

Titles Accepted for Indexing

ATLA has recently accepted the following titles to begin indexing.

	2008
	2007
	2006
	2002
	2001
	2000

2008

2007

2006

2002

2001

2000

Waitlist (as of 1/15/08)

ATLA currently has no titles on the waitlist.

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